Taken
by Heligena
Summary: Explosive Alternative story set in ep9 after Naomi kisses Emily by the lockers. Sort of splits off into an Alt Situation then involving Katie’s ex Danny mistaking Emily for Katie; what happens if he's not finished with his ex-fling! Ok, epilogue up!
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I wish i did own Naomily but Skins characters belong to the mages of E4. This is a short sort of alternative story set in episode nine after Naomi kisses Emily by the lockers and they decide to head off to Naomi's house. Sort of splits off into an Alt Situation then involving Katie's ex Danny. I'm thinking it's going to have a few chapters but reviews would help me decide whether to go any further with it, so any thoughts please let me know!

What happens if Danny sees Emily in Katie's clothes and decides he's not finished with his ex-fling yet?

**TAKEN**

By HeligenaGirl

"Lets get out of here."

Naomi grabbed Emily's hand, a tiny electric current flashing up her wrist as she did. Pulling her past Freddie and the clump of people spilling out of the classroom, they ran dizzily down the corridor, out into the big glass foyer and space. Open space to breathe.

Emily's head was spinning from the storm of emotions of the past few minutes. When Naomi had smiled at her, next to Katie's locker, the whole section of floor had jumped underneath her feet but then she'd told her that she was going away. Leaving her for the summer, running away again.

Her whole brain seemed to collapse in on itself and all the things she wanted to say, wanted to ask just died on her tongue.

"I'll miss you." They were the only words that had made their way out of the tempest in her head, stupid insignificant words, and she wasn't even sure she'd said them out loud until Naomi stopped a few metres away.

Just stood with her back to her.

Every single muscle in Emily's body had frozen, and her lungs had iced up.

_That's it. She's gone._

But then Naomi was moving, was next to her and she'd felt the lockers slam into her back with the force of her kiss. Desperate and pleading; so much that she had no time to feel the usual anticipation. She gave in to it, and kissed her back. Wanting to feel Naomi's burning skin on hers.

Wanting Naomi to know how much she needed her, in order to stay sane.

"I can't stand it...I can't,"

Naomi looked into Emily's beautiful brown eyes that had so many questions in them. She gently touched her neck, aware the whole time that she didn't have any of the answers, all she had was what she wanted... more than anything.

She moved in and kissed her again, deeply, passionately; couldn't stop. She felt the redheads lips press against hers and forgot everything else in the world. Even to breathe.

"Let's get out of here." She said gasping.

"I'll just go get my bike." Naomi grinned down at her and brushed a quick kiss on Emily's forehead.

"I'll be waiting." Emily replied with a warm smile.

Just those three words made Naomi's heart flicker but she held her composure, extricated her hand from Ems and wandered off towards the bike racks. Wondering what she was actually going to do when they got to her room. A real live everyday place instead of something out of the ordinary, a lake or a clearing in a wood. She smiled to herself, and grabbed her wrist to calm down her pulse.

She didn't see Emily behind her, tapping her thigh nervously where Katie's skirt rode up.

_How can she wear this? _She thought nervously. It felt strange standing there in the empty quad, wearing someone else's clothes. Somehow it made her feel more naked than ever.

She wished for the fourth time that Naomi would hurry up. The expectation of going home to Naomi's was almost killing her.

"Hello there Red."

She turned round and sighed when she saw Danny standing there, his shiny Boxster pulled up at the side of the curb, a pair of women's knickers tucked under the windscreen wipers.

"Heard you had a bit of a catfight..." His Bristolian accent sounded loud in the quiet air.

Suddenly she remembered the make up around her eye and the bandage taped to her forehead and realised why he was talking to her.

_Shit. _Rolling her eyes, she looked at him edgily. "Leave me alone Danny. I'm not Katie, all right."

"Sure and I'm not packing serious heat." She didn't have to look to know he'd grabbed his crotch and she felt her throat fill up with bile. She hefted her bag up on her shoulder.

"Seriously, you've got the wrong girl."

_Hurry up Naomi._

Emily turned her back to him, patting down the curls in her hair but then she felt him move close behind her and a heavy arm rest on her right shoulder.

"Listen babe, I know you inside and out. It's the legacy of a quality fuck, yeah." Disgusted, she tried to push his arm off her but he was surprisingly strong and it stayed there weighing down her shoulder.

"Get in the car, all right." He said it quietly but she wasn't naive enough not to catch the building aggression underneath.

"I'd rather die, thanks." She said with as much venom as she could muster. Angry at his blatant arrogance, and angry at her sister for choosing clothes that made blokes water at the mouth and for giving herself to such a disgusting perv.

_Fuck where's Naomi? _

Telling herself to keep calm, she took a step towards the history block, searching for any sign of blonde hair but she couldn't see anyone. The concrete area was deserted.

"Stop fucking around, Katie. You're embarassing yourself."

She spun round, buoyed up by frustration and resentment. "Listen, you psycho, I'm waiting for someone, ok."She raised her eyebrows so that he got the message.

Emily turned away from him again, her eyes glued back on the college walkways "and even if I wasn't, I have precisely nothing to..."

Before she could finish an arm had shot out and wrapped itself around her neck, ripping the collar of the leopard print shirt. A hand seemed to come out of nowhere and clamped itself over her mouth; the smell of beer and something sweet hitting her nostrils, making her eyes water painfully.

She struggled, even tried to bite him on the soft part of his palm, but he seemed to anticipate the move and pulled her backwards, off balance and then spun her round, slamming her small body into the car door.

Emily's ankle jarred from turning over on her sister's heel but the impact of her head and ribs hitting the door had left her dazed. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought for a moment that she saw a flash of white shirt and blonde hair but she couldn't turn her head to check because Danny punched her hard in the stomach and she fell to her knees, beside the kerb, breathing heavily

_Naomi..._

Every single part of her was aching. Heaving over the drain in the gutter, Emily desperately tried to remember where she was but there only seemed to be jumbled up flares of images in front of her eyes. A blue sweater in the darkness. A question, something about the night of the long knives? Moonlight glistening off flat, calm water. A voice. "I can't stand it..."

_Who was that?_

With the throbbing pain and the giddiness in her head, she barely resisted when a muscular pair of arms dragged her up from the ground and pushed her roughly into a leather seat. It was strangely comfortable and she wondered if she could just rest in it for a minute while she figured things out. Closing her eyes to try and ward off the thudding in her stomach and the wooziness that seemed to be getting worse, she didn't even notice the sound of an engine revving up.

Peering over at the driver, she watched limply as he took a swig from a bottle of Jack Daniel's. He offered some to her but she didn't know what to say. His face was familiar but...

"Jesus, have it your own way."

He splashed some of the liquid on her face and it felt cool on her burning skin. She wanted to wipe it off but her hands felt un-coordinated so she just sank back into the seat as another wave of dizziness washed over her.

Danny headed out onto the road. "You know what they say Red, the best part of breaking up is the making up."

Emily didn't even hear him.


	2. PhoneCall

Disclaimer: Just borrowing the characters temporaily, no lawsuits please.

A/N. Thanks so much for the reviews so far, not quite sure where this is going to go yet but reviews definitely make me write faster so please let me know what you think!#

**Part Two: PHONE CALL:**

**By HeligenaGirl**

"What did I tell you, all the romance a girl could ask for, yeah."

Emily huddled herself further into the battered old leather chair. It was the only recognisable furniture in the room. She couldn't tell which direction he'd driven in, staring out the Porsche window at the passing streets had made her feel like she was going to vomit, so she'd forced her eyes to focus on the white lines in the centre of the road. Sane, unchanging lines. One colour.

Manageable.

Well, until the car had taken a left turn onto some busted up tarmaced industrial estate and the wheels had started jerking on gravel. She'd been thrown about even in the padded chair and had to grip the armrest hard to stay conscious.

He pulled up in front of a whitewashed, broken down old building with boarded up windows.

"The old club-house," Danny said with a grin as he pulled her up out of the passenger seat, and gripping her shoulder, half walked her inside, through the labyrinth of corridors and rooms. Crackling painted walls that wouldn't be out of place in a mental asylum. It reminded her a little of the humanities block at college and trying not to picture Naomi there, she tried to scan the doors on either side as she stumbled along to make a note of room numbers, anything to pinpoint where he was taking her. But there didn't seem to be any and she wasn't entirely sure she'd remember them if there were, her whole forhead was burning.

"Ta-da," he said with a flourish as they arrived.

"Danny, please..." Her voice was dry and broken as she spoke but he ignored it, and let her slide into the chair as he pulled out a lighter and started lighting the dozens of candles that sat on every haphazard surface. Like sentries watching over her in case she tried to leave.

Suddenly, a clear lightning bolt of a thought slammed into her brain.

_Naomi. She thinks I just left her there._

She could only imagine what the blonde girl would be thinking. That she'd turned her back on her. That she was taking revenge for all the times Naomi had snuck off after Emily had opened herself up to her. Some sort of petty display of quid-pro-quo.

The thought brought fresh, stinging tears to her eyes, and she felt them roll down over her messy mascara. God knew what her face looked like.

_She'll never want you after this._

She let out a sob, as he flicked his lighter off.

_Think, Emily. _She tried desperately to scrape inside her mind for ways to prove to him that she wasn't her sister but everything was still so muddled and chaotic in her brain, and the dim flickering light was helping.

_You're in her clothes. _

She scrunched her eyes shut. _Your bag...with all the stuff from her locker in it. Shit._

How could she have been so stupid. _If you'd just gone with her to get her bike, none of this would have happened. Fucking idiot._

_You shouldn't have left her side._

She felt something pressed into her hand and opened her eyes to see a blurred vision of Danny, handing her a bottle of vodka this time.

"It'll make this a lot more starry-eyed." He winked at her and all she could do was pull her knees up to her chest.

----------------

Naomi stared with confusion at the empty concrete. She'd only been gone a few minutes and her skin was still singing where Emily had brushed against it but the red haired girl she'd been waiting to get back to was nowhere to be seen. No ruffled fringe, no dark brown eyes.

A shiver of nervousness slithered up her spine, as she scanned the grounds.

No sign. It was like she'd never been there at all.

_She wouldn't just leave. _

Her heart whispered it quiet but insistent and she knew that it was true but the small part of her brain that always told her she wasn't good enough for Emily jeered at the rest of her. Perplexed, she slung her canvas bag onto the handlebars of her bike and walked it to the edge of the pavement, taking turns to stare down each side of the road.

Nothing.

She was so preoccupied she almost missed noticing the small black broken heel lying in the damp gutter a metre to her right. Dangling over the struts of the drain cover. Katie's heel; the one with the scrape mark up the back.

_This isn't right, _she thought anxiously.

Mounting her bike, she cycled as fast as she could down the back streets, through the public footpath across the common until she reached the Fitch house. She walked quickly up to the door she had sat outside not that long ago and held Emily's hand through the catflap. The memory brought a lump to her throat and she pushed the doorbell before her courage failed.

"Jesus, what do you want?"

Katie stood there in her pyjama's, her bruised face masked with anger.

"Katie...have you heard from Emily lately?"

Katie didn't move. "No, how is that any of your business?"

-----------------

_Stop feeling sorry for yourself, for Christ Sake._

Emily suddenly sat up, despite the effort it took to move her aching limbs, a burning idea in her brain, one that might just get her back to Naomi and her sister.

"Do you still have her number?"

"Who?" His voice was slurred and he didn't seem to be focusing very well when he looked at her.

She grimaced, "Katie. Her phone. If you just ring it... Please, you'll see," she asked trying to contain the hope in her voice. "She'll answer it, she'll tell you you've made a mistake."

"You are one fucked up girl, babe..." He paused. "But, anything for a lady," he smirked, fumbling pathetically in his jeans pocket for his phone.

He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice the bald hanging light bulb above his head and it smacked into the back of his neck with a hot hiss. Danny roared so loudly that Emily had to cover her ears, and she couldn't help the tremor running across her cold skin as he threw his fist out and smashed it into tiny pieces. They rained down in the centre of the room.

He looked over, "This better not take long, it's rapidly losing its fucking appeal."

She watched nervously, as he scrolled through the numbers in his phone. Then pressed call when Katie's obviouslyflashed up.

Emily held her breath as it connected and started ringing.

In the lounge, Katie heard her phone go off and wandered in to get it, leaving Naomi on the doorstep unsure what to do. _Screw it._

She followed Katie through the hallway, into the living room.

Katie gave her a look but didn't say anything about her leaving, somehwat surprisingly.

She looked down at her phone. "Well I'll be damned." She ended the call and turned back to Naomi. "Some guys just don't know when no means no."

Emily watched in despair as he took the phone from his ear.

"Sorry sugarcakes, voicemail." He leered at her, his hand snaking up to rub at the burn on the back of his neck.

Emily's already worn heart sank and her chest began to burn. More hot tears started collecting in her eyes and she wiped them away furiously.

"Danny..." She swallowed, "Babes...Please just one more time."

He sighed in frustration, his long face in the candlelight sliced with shadow, "Last one though, Red. I'm not just here for your pleasure." She pushed down the nausea when he winked at her.

He dialled again.

_Ring. Ring. Ring_

_Ring._

_Ring._

" I think Emily might be in trouble."

"Do you, well how melodramatic. She's probably out somewhere, stalking some loser guy."

Naomi slapped the wall, "She wouldn't just say she was going to meet me and then not turn up!"

"Of course she would; maybe a better offer came along." Katie raised her own voice in return, staring down the angry blonde girl, relishing the idea of a fight.

Her phone started ringing again on the sofa and she yelled when she saw the name.

"For fuck's sake!"

Katie threw the offending Nokia down on the sofa, the high pitched ringing reverberating around the room, off the paintings.

"katie I'm not kidding, I need your help..."

Nothing.

Naomi snapped, the anxiety and frustration inside her throat threatening to just burst out of her skin. Picking up the still ringing phone, she pressed the green button. "Look, I don't know who you are but Katie's not here all right! She's out... with a guy, a big handsome guy with loads of money ok, so call back later."

"Who is this?" said the voice.

"Naomi..." She replied with impatience.

"Well thank you Naomi, you've been very helpful." He hung up.

Danny turned to Emily. "Well Kates, looks like you're out of excuses. Naomi says hi by the way."

Emily shrank back into herself, at that, at Naomi's name coming out of his mouth, totally defeated.


	3. Escape?

A/N: Methinks Interest in this story seems to be fading so not sure how much further to take it. If you want it to continue, please review, I really do need input as to whether anyone's reading!

**DEAD ENDS**

**By HeligenaGirl**

Emily couldn't keep a handle on the hurt and fear circling inside her chest.

Naomi had spoken to him. Lied, in her swwet voice; told him that she was Katie. _Why would she do that?_

_She wouldn';, _that's what her skin whispered, the places where Naomi had touched it, ran her fingers across it, the loudest of all. _She doesn't know what he's done...she just..._

She just what though? Happened to pick up Katie's phone and have a quick chat to some footballer she'd only seen in passing when he'd agreed to sign someone's tits.

None of it made any sense. She could see through the painted slit of a window at the top of the whitewash wall that it was evening, the black sky peeked through the gaps and scratches. She couldn't tell how long she'd been here, it could have been days rather than hours. The skin on her face was sore from the tears and the smudged make-up. And her mouth felt as if it could crack and fall off her face, it was so dry. She needed a drink. Anything.

Emilt snuck a look over at Danny who'd downed almost two thirds of the bottle of vodka and was sitting against the wall with the row of hooks, legs out, like a human doll.

_Shit._

He suddenly noticed that she was staring at him, and she regretted her action instantly, as he levered himself up and stumbled over to her, reeking of alcohol and sweat. But worse than that, expectation.

He plonked himself down on the floor by her legs and held out the heavy, round bottle.

"No thanks...I'm trying to cut back." She said/

"Yeah sure." He held it up more insistently, an inch from her nose and Emily fought the urge to grab it and smash it over his disgusting head. But with most of the liquid gone, the hit might only slow him down and with her ankle, there was no way she could outrun him. He'd just be even crazier and she couldn't quite bring herself to think about what that would mean.

"I'm not a fucking waiter, you know..." Forcing her brain to think quickly, she tried to think how she could pacify him, at least until he drank enough to give her a chance.

"Do you mind if I have my own?" She pointed to her bag, slung on one of the hooks, like some leftover skin.

There was suspicion in his hazy blue eyes but there wasn't much of an internal dialogue. He shrugged and wandered over to it, fumbling inside the fabric until he found the half empty bag of vodka she'd retrieved from Katie's locker stash.

"Here you go. Don't say I never give you nothing." He threw it over and she caught it in her lap, pulling her legs up underneath her to at least keep them warm and out of the light. She took a swig and swallowed the burning liquid, swilling it round her mouth. At least, she wouldn't have to worry about it having anything else suspect added to it. That's what she told herself. Naomi might have something to say about that logic. She shut the thought down before it overwhelmed her.

"I missed you, you know."

_Huh? _Wiping her mouth, alongside the fear, Emily felt a wave of curiosity flash through her bloodstream. Maybe it was the concussion or thefumes but she wondered what her sister saw in someone like him...She sniffed quietly.

"Why. It was just sex." She offered.

_Wasn't it?_

A strange, unexplainable expression crossed his face. "Fucking quality sex, if you don't mind."

If he noticed her shudder, he ignored it. "Don't get me wrong, babes, you rocked the kasbah in the sack but..." He seemed to struggling for words. "I liked the way you talked to me."

She blinked, thrown by the sincerity in his tone, underneath the slur.

"You were the first...who actually listened to what I had to say." He rested his head on her calf.

"Right, that's me...I'm a listener."

_Fucking Hell..._what version of Katie was he talking about? The one who raided her knicker drawer for underwear to match some mood or the one who refused to talk to you, if you left a club before three am.

"I like your nose too. And...I like these knees," he said, lurching over the words, but apparently with it enough to use his motor functions. He ran his hot palm across her leg. She pulled it in as tight as it would go, pushing down the new sense of panic into the spaces between her ribs.

"Danny, you know what I could really do with?"

She closed her eyes while she waited for a response. Nothing.

Not a sound. Just wind outside and the drip of a leaking pipe.

Silence.

_Maybe he's out cold._

Emily said a small prayer, looked down at the floor, and the tiny pinprick of hope that'd built up inside cracked open. He wasn't unconscious, he was transfixed by her face, just waiting for an explanation with what looked like pure hunger.

"uh...some pills, I'd like some pills." she finished, hesitantly.

"Huh, thought you liked a clear head during."

A candle at the far end of the room flickered then. Emily suddenly had the clearest image of her sister in the darkness at Gobbler's End, screaming at them all not to ruin the weekend by taking Effy's stash of mushrooms. For the first time, the reaction made sense, and despite the seriousness of her current situation, Emily felt ashamed that she had made fun of her offence.

_You can apologise, soon. _

At least a part of her brain, was working on the plan.

As it was, Danny rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Pills... pills... I know a guy but...we're a bit out of the way, you know what I mean."

"It'd be worth it," she said giving what she hoped was some kind of seductive smile, even though she knew it didn't reach her eyes. Hopefully, the shadows would mask that.

"Well..."

She clenched her muscles hard.

"Ok... Mission."

Her heart leapt in her chest and she started to drag her body up when he pushed her back down, wagging one of his fingers, one with a fat gold ring on it. "Uh uh, you stay and make yourself look pretty.

"But the air would..." She barely managed the first word before he grabbed her throat. "No means no, Kates. Got any cash, though?"

_Do I? Probably. As much use as it is here._

"I think I have a fiver in my bag," she replied miserably. He went over and started rifling through it again. "Where? Jesus, who the fuck needs all this stuff?"

"It's in one of the pockets..." She watched him flailing through the contents apparently without aim and covered her eyes, couldn't bear to think about him touching that canvas flap of skin. "Just take it with you, it's in there somewhere. You can use the car light to look." All she could think about was getting him to leave so she could try and find a way out. Just some space to think. To breathe.

"Women!" Danny slung the bag across his football shirt and saluted her before he walked out of the doorway. She heard the sound of a padlock been chained through the handles and exhaled hot, nervous air. He knew what he was doing.

Then all there was to listen to was the drip drip drip of the tube above her head and the sounds of tyres squealing off gravel somewhere metres away outside the wall. Then nothing. Just nothing but her own fear.

She didn't even notice the sound of a candle coming loose and a flame catch.

------

Naomi sat awkwardly in Effy's mum's car, a Renault Scenic, with shining surfaces and not even a bootmark on the mat in the footwell. It'd taken her an hour to convince Katie to borrow it so they could try and find Emily. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd called her phone but it went straight to voicemail everytime. A strange, smiling disembodied version of the accent she knew so well. Loved hearing. Especially when it was muffled by a pillow.

"What were you meeting her for anyway?"

Katie kept her eyes on the road but Naomi could tell she wasn't really paying attention.

She smiled icily. "Sex. Hot _lesbian_ sex if you must know."

"Funny." The twin changed gear, ramming the stick towards Naomi's knee. "Have you ever thought about having your own show? You'd be well successful."

Katie made a right, checking her mirrors and shook her head angrily. "Honestly, she's such a fucking idiot."

"She's not."

Naomi cursed, she knew she'd said it far too quickly but all the snide comments and sneers Katie kept throwing at Emily, made her palms itch.

"She just doesn't have the balls to tell you to fuck off."

There was silence for a moment inside the car.

"But you don't have that problem, clearly."

Naomi smiled at that and brushed her hair back behind her ear. _No, just telling people that you want to be with them. _

"Not that she couldn't do with some balls, if you ask me." Katie muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, a Mini convertible pulled out in front of them, missing their front bumper by an inch and Katie slammed her hand down on the horn, "I'll just guess where you're going shall I? Prick!"

"Naomi, This is just a wild fucking goose chase. She's probably just...out at some knitting convention, sewing herself some friends."

_If you only knew what she was really like. _Naomi clamped her tongue down in her mouth but then, seemed to think better of it.

"When she should be, what, puking up in some club toilet somewhere?"

Katie cocked an eyebrow.

"So...you're not against her having fun per-se, just as long as it co-incides with _your _idea of fun."

"Right." A frown crossed the redhead's tight face. "No. Shut up! You don't know anything about us, ok so save it."

Naomi had to bite her lip to stop the seeds of memories Emily had whispered to her during the night in the woods, from spilling out. About how they'd swapped socks during the night to confuse their Mum when she woke them up for school. Stupid, irrrelevant details that somehow made her want to reach over and kiss Emily, whenever she shared one.

The blinkers went on and they came back to stop at the corner of Allensbank Road.

"We're going in circles." The car screeched to a halt and Naomi grabbed the arm-rest, as her neck snapped back, "Jesus, what is this, formula one?"

"Well look what the shitting cat dragged in." Katie pointed out a yellow Porsche further up the estate, parked with one shining wheel mounting the kerb. "Fucking Danny."

Before Naomi could argue, she'd pulled up a few cars behind his and turned off their lights.

The blonde girl looked over with disbelief, "Don't you think we have more important things to be doing than stalking your ex?"

"Ssshhh. I just want to give him a message."

They stared as he chatted to a group of lads under the bus stop, next to the smashed window and Naomi's mouth dropped as Katie opened her door silently ans crept out into the night air. Watching through the windscreen she saw Katie's wavy hair move to the back of the porsche. _Shit, she's going to smash something! Stop her!_

Getting out as quietly as she could manager, Naomi kept her head down and crept behind her companion.

"Get back in the car."

"Looks like he's got some tart lined up and waiting..." Katie pointed to a girl's abg propped up on the passenger seat and stuck out her tongue.

She looked a bit closer at the bag, "Hang on, that's mine. How would he have my..."

Naomi pushed past her to stare through the driver's side window, pressing her hot forehead to it. "Emily had that bag at college!"

They both experienced a shiver of realisation at the same time and even though she wasn't entirely sure why, Naomi pulled Katie back to the safety of their car to at least calm their breathing before Danny noticed them. Maybe, it was also to stop herself from smashing the window and touching the thing that had been close to Emily after she'd gone. She wasn't sure of anything, anumore.

Hanging behind the back bumper, they both watched as a clearly inebriated Danny swaggered back to his car, collar rolled up standing to attention, something hidden in his right hand that made him grin to himself. As if it was just another day. Naomi felt the twin's hands clench beside her and tapped her wrist as a warning although she was feeling a similar wave of anger herself.

He slid inside his car smoothly and within a minute pulled away from the kerb, as the two girls stared at each other.

"Well..." said Naomi urgently. "Follow him."

But the only thought in her head was, _We're coming Emily. _


	4. Following the Trail

A/N: Yay, the reviewers are back and being awfully nice so here's the next part. The last chapter was really more filler than anything, a way of moving the plot along so hopefully big explosive things coming soon! This one indulges my interest in the Naomi-Katie dynamic. Please keep reviewing, your country needs you!

**FOLLOWING THE TRAIL:**

**By HeligenaGirl**

In the darkness of Bristol's winding city streets, a dim yellow streak burned in the windscreen of the car desperately trying to keep up with it. A ridiculous game of cat and mouse. The Porsche's moves were erratic though, it kept clipping the pavements, only to swerve back into the centre of the road, the horn blaring out once when a pedestrian dared to give the finger.

It took a sudden right turn and Katie lost sight of it's colour for a second. Holding her breath, she jerked the wheel and caught's its glare again at the bottom half of the estate.

"Could you possibly put your foot down and at least keep within a few miles of your ex's penis extension?"

Katie gritted her teeth and clamped her tongue down on the retort that wanted to come out. It was taking most of her concentration just to keep her eyes ahead and her left arm from pushing the irritating blonde right out of the passenger door.

Danny ran right over the painted mini-roundabout ahead of them at speed.

"Seriously, how could you touch _that_?!"

10...9...8..._Fuck it._

Katie's carefully maintained resolve shattered. "What are you, Mary of Nazareth?" She glared at the slanted fairground version of Naomi, trapped in her wing mirror. "Would explain the clothes I guess. Besides, an orgasm is an orgasm, yeah."

"Not that you'd know." She added under her breath.

Naomi knew she was riling her companion, the only person who could actually help her, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. All the things she wanted so deperately to tell Emily, all the things she couldn't tell her before she took her hand by the lockers seemed to be mutating in her mouth, twisting in on themselves and coming out on a slipstream of bile.

_Can you catch Tourettes? _She wasn't sure anymore.

"_He _gave you an orgasm. Disturbing." She fell into silence, tenseness overcoming her mouth for a moment.

"Well we can't all lose our virginity to the school janitor, it's just not viable."

_Touche,_ thought Naomi. She let silence envelop the small area inside the car, as it sped along doing nearly fifty five to keep up with Danny's sports car.

"Did he ever make you wear a Bristol Rover's shirt?..." Naomi tried to keep from showing her smile as it came out, in spite of the horrific sense of worry lying in the pit of her stomach.

All too aware that it took all of Katie's reserves to keep her hands on the smooth insides of the car. The curving wheel and gearstick that suddenly felt weirdly inappropriate .

"Sorry... it's a problem I have. I'll stop." Said Naomi suddenly.

That surprised Katie. But, she nodded a tacit agreement while keeping one eye on the lights ahead. Down another street. Another junction. Blinking indicators and revs. It could have been the same road everytime for all she recognised.

The red-haired twin rubbed her eyes, the dim light and the fleeting motion of the streetlamps beginning to wear on them. She watched tiredly, as a man out walking his staff bull terrier got spooked by the revving of the sports car ahead and wondered if Danny even noticed.

Beside her, the blonde swallowed, unsure what to say now that there were new restrictions of politeness. She had no experience to fall back on, was the problem. Emily always knew, the exact thing to say even when her heart was frayed in two. Even through tears and bleeding skin.

_I wish you were here, Ems. _A part of her hoped that discomfort was the worst thing Emily was feeling, because the thought of her being somewhere, afraid, terrified, thinking that no-one cared enough to look for her made every muscle in her face want to clench.

Katie took a hard turn as the Porsche shot down a side lane, it's exhaust coughing out testosterone and Naomi had to grab her armrest to keep from slamming into the door.

She stared over at Katie, frustrated. "Shouldn't you be keeping a low profile?"

"Shouldn't you be keeping stum?" she retorted.

Naomi shook her head, as the car straightened up again, "Shouldn't you be wearing a seatbelt?"

"Shouldn't you be wearing a fucking muzzle, there's new laws you know, about dangerous pets being unsupervised!"

Katie blew out a stream of hot air, as if that could cleanse the burning in her chest. The warm, salty air inside the car from the two of them.

"I'm worried, ok."

Naomi almost did a double take, in her seat when she heard the quiet words. She'd never heard Emily's sister show much besides disdain and short-temperedness towards her, apart from the odd throwaway shared joke during class. The thought of her worrying about her, as much as Naomi did, wanting her back just so that the world could pulse in it's usual, fascinating way, made the whole thing even more surreal.

"Listen, Katie, I..." Naomi started, unsure what she was even going to say but she was cut off before she had to decide.

"She's always been weird about going out without a bag. It's like a security blanket for her." Katie paused. "Without it...she won't know how to...."

She couldn't finish the thought, and slammed the walls of her brain down, before the tears spilled out. _Driving, just driving. First things first._

Naomi's body flushed cold. She didn't know why but the seriousness of what they were doing slathered over her skin as soon as Katie had spoken. She looked over gravely, "Did he ever try and..."

Katie flinched, eyes ahead. Only slightly but it was there. "Not really."

"I was really hoping for a definitive no." Naomi scrunched her eyes shut to try and pre-empt the image of Emilystruggling under the weight of some disgusting, plastered guy.

"When he's been drinking, he get's a little...handsey, you know." The red-head blew a curl of hair out of her eyes. "It was only once. I just hit him on the back of the head with a lamp."

Naomi smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "The universal man's off switch."

They indicated, following the blinking side lights of the sports car as it circled at least three times around a roundabout and then headed back towards the outskirts of the city.

"Not in a hurry is he? Do you think that's good or bad?"

"Don't know," said Katie honestly.

The sinking sensation at the base of her neck was getting worse the longer they cruised around after him. He clearly wasn't worried about Emily making a break for it, why was that? She had the fleeting idea that she was tied up in the boot of his car and he was doing all this to show off to her, but Katie knew that was a fantasy. The boot could barely hold a rucksack let alone a person. Not a person. Emily.

Her twin.

"Maybe he's got her in there..."

Katie Fitch was momentarily thrown by the similarity of Naomi's thought and smiled sadly.

"Not enough room."

"Tried it have you?"

_Damn, _Naomi cursed the slip but Katie just ignored it, showing unusual graciousness. Kept her eyes tripping along the road.

"When we get her home, we need to find her someone kind, who sees how amazing she is."

The decisiveness in her tone made Naomi's face burn and she shifted in the fabric of the seat. Her brain screamed, _Tell her. Why you're so upset. Why you agreed to go to Pandora's party when you knew they would all laugh at you. How her eyes shine when you smile at her._

Naomi sniffed loudly, but held herself together, in the darkness. _Tell her, she deserves to know._

She willed her brain to shut the hell up but apparently anxiety made it brave.

_Tell her what you felt when she left you the note._

"Katie..." she spoke first of all to break through the whirlwind of taunts. "I..."

_Tell her, how you reached over and kissed her. The spark on her lips._

"Maybe we should..." _Tell her how you watched her sleep, on a rug, in the dirt, with her arm slung over her face to hide the smile._

The car jerked a little.

_Give her all the details on how you meant to walk away but the fake bruises on her face, made you want to kiss them better._

She felt a little dizzy. "Katie, I really think we should..."

Brown, confused eyes stared at her, waiting for some clarification to the rambling.

Her own eyes only flicked to the road momentarily but what she saw made her blood freeze.

""Brake!"

Before Katie could put any pressure through her foot, something solid and unstoppable slammed into them headfirst, crushing the bumper and engine into a single mass of plastic metal. Naomi felt her forehead slam into the side window and something trickle down past the corner of her eye before the car began to spin. Katie's neck snapped back next to her and her body slumped down into the middle of the car motionless as it turned and turned.

A maelstrom of sound and grating parts.

All lights went out, inside and out of both cars; just winked and died, then there was only blackness. Groaning metal buckled further as the car came to a complete stop on a small side road, Naomi's sense of balance wrapped up in nausea and dull pain.

She jerked her shoulder, with angry results.

"Katie?"

Her voice had it's own echo in the dust and the silence.

"Katie?"

She couldn't bring herself to reach over to where her friend was stationary and wilted, and her voice was about to crack in half. She could see from the slant of her seat that she was breathing though, that had to be enough didn't it?

Pushing at her door, with livid tears, Naomi crawled out of the wreck, almost overwhelmed by the feeling of confusion and desolation. She stumbled to the other vehicle that had rolled on it's side a few metres away.

A smashed up skeleton, shedding yellow parts. Expensive yellow parts.

_Oh God._

She suddenly realised who had hit them . And using up her last reserves of fear and rage she scratched wildly at the warped door and the body of the man inside. Levering it open with a bent piece of metal from some designated part of the Porsche, she unclasped his seatbelt buckle and dragged him out of there, out of his prized possession, his status symbol.

Out of the skin that everyone admired.

"Wake up, you bastard. Wake up!" She let him drop to the floor, and nudged his shoulder with her aching foot. There was no response but she knelt down anyway, slapping him hard in the face. "Danny!"

Seeing there was no reaction, at all, not even a flicker of a blink, Naomi couldn't help herself, she burst out crying , there in the road.

------

She didn't hear it but a few miles away, Emily Fitch screamed as the entire wall of the locked room burst into flame.


	5. Frailty

_A/N: Ah thanks guys for all the encouragement, big fluffy tribbles for all of you and especially thanks for the tips Miss Peg. What started out as quite a conventional story seems to be taking some unusual turns! Seems you like cliffhangers though, so keep reading for more excitement and please review if you like (or hate) what's coming up!_

_**FRAILTY**_

_**By HeligenaGirl**_

_I can't stand it._

_Emily shrank back behind the chair, willing the acrid smell of smoke to relent for just a moment. Between the fumes of liquefying paint and the thumping of the right side of her brain, it was all she could do to keep from throwing up. _

_He's not coming back. _

_She knew that now. _

_He'd rather watch you burn than touch you. Strange, how your priorities shifted without you even noticing. The immobilising fear that she'd been existing off the last few hours, of Danny, of his grabbing hands, of his overwhelming desire, had mutated into something much worse. The horror of not being able to breathe and feeling flames on her skin was shortwiring any thoughts she could formulate. At least with him, it would have been fleeting. Just a small part of her. But every inch of her skin was prickling, she had to check every few seconds just to make sure it wasn't bubbling. _

_Think, Emily. Fucking think._

_But all she had were thoughts, a million intertwining ones. She couldn't get within a few feet of the door, everytime she'd tried, the waves of heat that were clawing their way across the brickwork drove her backwards. The windows were reinforced from the outside, she doubted that much could break through._

_She couldn't help a sob breaking out, as she pulled her knees up to her chest, keeping the back of the chair between her and the blaze. _

_You're going to die, in a slutty outfit. Everyone who sees the body will think you're a whore. Emily sniffed, grateful at least for the few tears moistening her face. She wished Katie was there._

_She'd fight, she'd rail against it. _

_She'd scream, Fuck unfair!_

_And Naomi, she'd give fate the finger. And it'd sit up and take notice because she was beautiful, and no matter what you did, you couldn't ignore her. No-one could._

_Emily snapped her eyes open, despite the stinging smoke. You're just like them, they're equal._

_Prove it._

_She stood up, clenching both fists._

_----_

_Naomi debated with herself for a moment, smearing the tears off her face with her sleeve._

_Just fucking do it. She glanced back at the wrecked Renault._

_Katie would do it._

_Tensing every muscle, she reached down and pushed Danny's thick arm again. It barely moved. He had a pulse, she'd checked but clearly he wasn't even close to waking up. Probably something to do with the deep cut running along his hairline. Forcing herself on, she slid her hand into his tight jeans pocket, watching his face for any sign of movement. _

_It was warm and she could feel the outline of something but she blocked it out of her mind. There was Nothing in there. Using all her strength to roll his body over onto his back, she leant down close over his arrogant face, felt his shallow breathing on her mouth, and tried gingerly inside the other. Her fingers clasped around something hard. Yes._

_She dragged whatever it was out slowly._

_Keys. Just ordinary, everyday keys._

_Naomi screamed in frustration. Hefted them into her fist and threw them hard into the middle of the dark road. Her brain seemed to be slipping a hundred ways out of control._

_Ems... what am I supposed to do?_

_She remembered a discussion they had had once outside sociology about philanthropy and human nature. About how little individual charity made a difference. Emily had looked at her a little sadly, You help the people you can help, that's all. _

_Naomi could hear her voice in the still night air and smiled wearily. She finally got the message._

_Gulping down air, she levered herself up off her scraped knees and headed back towards Katie's limp body. She hadn't moved her for fear of a spinal injury, that was what they always said wasn't it, besides the woman who'd answered when she'd dialled an ambulance had told her to make sure her head was supported and just to keep her warm._

_She was just crossing the white line when she noticed the glare of the streetlamps glinting off the keys she'd thrown, the brown fob blending into the tarmac._

_Wait, how could she not have noticed there was something on the keychain. _

_Running over, she grabbed them and held her breath, turning the small leather fob over. It winked at her with gilded letters; Bristol Rover's Old Clubhouse, Lorelei Industrial Park, BS11 3RZ_

_She'd never felt so relieved in her whole life._

_She took off running, across the road, down a backstreet without slowing down her pace._

_Thanking God, she'd been wearing trainers, as the dark slatted fences flashd past, leaving splinters on her eyelids. She didn't care._

_Half of her knew that she should have stayed with Katie, even as she sprinted over a mini-roundabout; she would never have left her there alone, with that...bastard in any other circumstances, unaided and bleeding but she had an ominous feeling buzzing under her muscles about Emily. Something was wrong. _

_Her brain taunted her._

_And every step she took, the word betrayal flicked at her tongue. Whispering with it's mates that she'd left Katie, the way she always left Emily. Scared of the dark and haemorrhaging inside. Breathing hard, she misjudged a gap and felt the wing mirror of a car smack her rib as she ran past. It knows, she thought and Naomi wasn't sure she could tell anymore if the acid burning in her chest was lactic or guilt-based._

_She could go back. Of course, she could but what if she was right?_

_She had to slow down for a second as a stitch ran up her side. _

_So many decisions. Always decisions, always secrets; Uncertainty. _

_Jesus, is this how I made her feel?_

_Doubling over, Naomi clamped her eyes shut when she felt the full weight of that particular truth, all the times she'd left her girl sleeping, heartbroken. _

_All she wanted was someone to tell her the right thing to do. _

_But there was nothing but silence. So, raising her chin, Naomi started running again._

_-------------_

_Emily's eyelashes felt as if they were melting. Like someone had layed on ten coats of mascara and they were saturated, just couldn't take anymore._

_Her throat was hoarse from shouting. Calling to anyone who might be around, might have seen the dense smoke that was billowing around the room and out of the cracks. She'd thought someone at least, would sense someone's desperation on a quiet night._

_An old towel, hanging from a peg on the wall flared, catching up with the smouldering bricks around it, and she huddled back into the corner of the room, away from the building wall of flames._

"_Please, someone," she tried again anyway but the smog filled up the space where the sound should be. No-one was going to hear. No-one was coming._

_She scanned the room for anything to use as a battering ram. Ripping up the delapidated cushion off the chair, she searched the underside desperately for something to use to try and smash the window but the only remnants of civilsation there were a few coins and some rizla papers._

_Useless tidbits._

_Then she looked up._

_The light!_

_Staring up at the hanging mass of cables that used to lead into the bulb, she tried to work out what they would be attached to. Something heavy enough, something metal, with enough force to break through plated glass? _

_Only one way to find out._

_Dragging the flattened leather chair over to the middle of the room, she clambered up onto it, steadying her feet on the arm rest and reached up with all her strength. _

_The wires just laughed at her, dangling a few inches above her fingertips._

_Not even close, they giggled._

_Screaming with frustration, she tried to stretch every muscle in her body, clawing at them to grow just for one second. Emily reached up, willing the space to squeeze in on itself. _

_There was just an inch now. She clutched again, digging her toes into the soft fabric of the leather. Up._

_She was almost there._

_Just one more go._

_She drew out her joints, jarring them upwards as she stretched...and her fingertips ghosted the edges of the wires and she felt them tickle._

"_Emily!"_

_A hard bang on the window outside suddenly broke into the room and in shock, Emily lost her footing. Her ankle turned on it's side dropping her too quickly, and her already exhausted body slammed into the hard floor._

_She didn't move. Naomi's heart juddered when she saw what she'd done. The girl she'd tried not to kiss hit the ground in slow motion, her forehead smacking it with such force that she swore she could hear it through the layers of glass. Flames erupted a few feet from Emily's red hair._

"_Emily? Can you hear me?" She punched the window as hard as she could. "Emily!?"_

_Grabbing a trash can, she threw it with all her might at the window._

_It just bounced off._


	6. Rescue

**A/N: Hey guys, bless you all for the lovely reviews. Really appreciate all of them and look forward to reading every one, especially from you cliff-hanger junkies. Also special thanks to raichu-xyz for what you said and ladymerc for your review of Working Things Out (the Naomi-JJ scene is one of my faves that I've written.) Anyways, see what you think of this one...Also, this chapter is a little shorter than usual coz I'm moving into a shared house tomorrow and got sidetracked with packing but the next should be back to normal length. The drama continues...**

**Let me know what you think, would make my day!!**

**COMPASSION**

**By HeligenaGirl**

"Mmemm..."

She could have sworn she heard a voice from somewhere, echoing off the chafing insides of her head.

But it was muffled, stifled by something.

She tried at first to open her eyes but the thumping beat of a pulse beside her right eye fractured the command in two.

The red-headed girl winced, as a bolt of nausea and strange misappropriated adrenaline shot up her face. Her sore, aching face.

_How much did I drink?... _It was the first and only coherent thought that made its way out of the mass of brain fluid. She could feel her forehead leaning hard on some sort of surface, a hard one, strangely warm too where her skin had been lying but the rest of her body could have been miles away for all the feeling it had.

She tried to move her neck, just a little, an inch but stopped as the muscles running up it screamed.

"Mmemm...Mmem."

There it was again.

_Where is that coming from? _The voice was getting louder. Which meant, either the person was getting closer or she was becoming more aware of it. She wasn't sure, which she'd prefer. Sort of hoped it was both. It didn't matter to her, in that second who it was speaking, all she wanted was to hear someone else's voice, someone else's touch just to prove she was really awake. That all her limbs were attached.

A series of jumbled images suddenly smacked the backs of her eyelids. Staring at herself in the mirror that morning, in clothes she would never usually be caught dead in, grimacing at the sight of herself. And then blonde hair opposite her, closer than... it should have been in public.

"Emily?"

The name burned into her consciousness, the voice achingly familiar.

"Emily, can you hear me?"

_Can I? _She wasn't entirely sure her mind wasn't trying to give her some hope in the darkness.

She tried again to push open her eyelids, and with great effort, opened them a crack. A white blur blinked back at her, a grey elongated shadow in the corner of them, leaning in. She felt a hand resting on her wrist, gently, and realised the person was checking her pulse. Making sure she was still alive.

_They care._ _They care!_

If nothing else, they cared to check she was breathing.

She gave a silent prayer; something she never did.

The liquid relief just about sent her over the edge and she couldn't help the sob that broke away from her then. For the pain burning behind her cheekbones, for the permanent anxiety she'd been feeling for hours, even though she couldn't quite remember why.

"Here, let me help."

She felt her hazy guardian angel snake their soft hand behind her neck, under her matted hair and pull her forehead out of the position she'd been in. Her chest howled, as her ribs moved a little but it felt good to move and feel new sensations even if they hurt.

"I..." she started but was stopped immediately by a finger resting on her lip.

"Sshhhh. You don't need to speak."

The red-head smiled gratefully, realising maybe for the first time that she was beyond lucky. Right then, she'd have taken compassion over all the alcohol and pills in the world and that's exactly what she'd gotten. _It really __**could**__ be you _she thought a little fuzzily.

"It's going to be ok, Emily. I'm here, now. I'll look after you."

Was that a tinge of guilt? Buried deep in the tone she was sure she recognised? She could have sworn she heard something like remorse in there but the stranger didn't say anything else, didn't explain themselves. Maybe they thought she wouldn't notice in her state.

She didn't even want to think about how she looked, the hairline bandage from earlier was hanging off, just in the corner of her eyeline and there were new bruises everywhere, she could feel them stretching out, turning purple and yellow.

Her seraph hadn't even seemed to notice, and when she tried to move her face away, they drew it back softly and ran their fingertips over the skin. To check it, make sure it was intact?

They seemed satisfied enough for now though and the girl was chastened enough to keep form turning away again.

She wanted so desperately to tell them that it was ok, that they were doing enough for her but then another arm, stronger than she could have predicted, gripped the small of her back and picked her up.

Struggling a little, she was carried her away from the smell of burnt paint and the sharp edges she knew were there even if she couldn't see them. She relaxed a little in their hold, gulping in fresh, cold night air as it hit her face.

Bristol had always had it's own smell at night, distinct from any other city she had ever been to. A mixture of cordite, greed and a welcoming mix of the illicit. Fireworks and danger. It seemed multiplied now somehow and sang to her, as she breathed it in.

Cleaned her lungs with it.

"It's all right, I'm taking you somewhere safe."

She smiled, tiredly and felt the first proper waves of lethargy roll over her.

Danny grinned as he saw the girl in his arms was breathing evenly, asleep already. It was just his luck to crash his car into another of the Fitch girls. With Katie waiting back at base, he could take his time getting there with Emily, another broken beauty to wake with a kiss.

It didn't even occur to him that he was holding Katie in his arms.

Because all he could think was that having both twins would definitely make it a night to remember.


	7. Breakthrough

**A/N: Cheers everyone for the reviews so far. Did I trick you with that last chapter? Anyway, we're having a bit of a break from the cliffhangers, so here's some relief before the finale. Hope you like, let me know, I'll be your friend for life!**

**BREAKTHROUGH**

**By HeligenaGirl**

Naomi stared at the flames in horror, through the murky smear of the window. The patterns seemed almost snake-like through the maze of stains and messily scratched graffiti; alive somehow with a will of their own.

She knew what they wanted.

Emily. The same thing she wanted.

The same thing every person wanted; someone wholehearted who loved you unconditionally, from a distance if they had to, burning with sweet honest emotions. Her eyes flicked to the body on the floor and her knees almost crumbled underneath her.

Almost. But the anger that had been deluged by fear was surfacing again, and she let herself feed off it.

_Time to stop letting her down, Naomi..._

Way past.

Naomi turned away just for a moment to scan the broken down area for something heavy. A piece of metal. Rock. Anything she could use. She didn't even think about it consciously, but it made absolute sense. Their Political and Social Ed teacher had made them watch a series of video clips from large scale riots. Some from the Boxer Rebellion. Some from Arkansas during Martin Luthor King's period.

Asked them: what do you fight cowardice and fear with.

The answer had been unanimous; you fight them with weight and immoveable force.

Tonight she was going to be immoveable.

Naomi spied a heavy jagged-edged brick, a part of a breezeblock from the concrete revolution and ran over. Hefting it up, letting it rest on the insides of her arms, she lugged it back over to the window, ignoring the pain in her muscles.

The fear that it wouldn't be enough slashed through her before she could stop it, and she forced herself not to look for the fan of red hair in there, spreading out over the floor. Where a thousand boots had trampled, not even caring that one day they'd have a beautiful sweet girl, lying face down on their remains.

_Do it... _she remonstrated with herself.

Swinging her arms round, as she'd seen hammer throwers do in the Olympics, she threw her body round, one revolution then two until she was almost sure she'd lost sight of the target plane of glass.

Spying it, a seconds worth of reflected orange, she heaved the brick out, as far away from her as she could. And held her breath.

It was dropping too fast. But wait, just a few more inches...

A loud, authoritative smash rang out in the quiet.

Shards of thick, unwieldy plexiglass shattering down onto the floor inside the room. _Vandalism 101, A+, _she thought, breathing heavily. Then she was next to the opening, and felt the full unrestricted wave of heat singe her face. It sobered her up immediately.

Emily had been in there for hours.

Grabbing the bent sides of the plastic frame, she rested her trainer on the sill and dragged herself up on screaming arm muscles, squinting against the burning air that spilled out.

She jumped inside the inferno.

"Emily!"

She shouted it but somehow her voice got swallowed up in the dense air.

"Emily!" Nothing.

_Christ, get with it. Action not words, Naomi. _

Sprinting across to the fallen girl on the floor, she reached out a tentative hand and felt the skin on Emily's face. It was hot and clammy, nothing like she remembered it. She let her hand trail down to Emily's neck, the crook in which she'd fallen asleep once.

There was a pulse. A roaring one, pattering around.

_Maybe she knows I'm here? _

She knew it was a selfish thought, right then but her mind seemed to be operating almost without her co-operation. J_ust the vessel,_ she justified mentally but she couldn't say quite who she was justifying herself to.

Naomi took another glance at the open window and looked down down, "I'm going to get us out of here, Ems. No-one gets left behind this time...I promise."

_I promise._

Bending down, she planted a quick chaste kiss on the red-heads parched lips then circled her arm around her shoulder. Thank God, Emily was so small otherwise she would never have been able to hold her weight as she straightened up, leaning back to disperse the load. Staggering slowly, leaning back, she carried her away from the flames to the hold in the window.

And realised her big mistake. She would never be able to climb up onto the sill, with Emily in her arms. Cursing loudly, she pushed herself up on her toes, gaining as much height as she could and peered over. The glass seemed to have mostly fallen inside the room, there was only a little sprinkling on the hard mud outside and no obvious rocks or stones.

Her back burned feverishly and she knew they didn't have much time before the glass in the other windows shattered. But she couldn't quite believe what she was going to do.

Apologising softly in Emily's ear, she hefted her up again, pushed herself forward and hanging by the crack, let the girl drop from her embrace. She was clambering up the frame before she heard the sound of Emily's prone form thumping into the ground.

Jumping down she checked every inch of the girl's available skin to see if she'd caused her anymore pain but apart from the odd indistinct groan, there didn't seem to be any new injuries. Naomi crossed herself for the first time in her life.

And proceeded to pick Emily up and carry her to a soft patch of mud far away from the burning room, to the edge of the site. Far from anything that might be considered a wall. Dropping to her knees, she felt every single one of her own wounds start to throb but she didn't care. Because Emily was alive.

Was with her.

And waking up...

Another groan filtered into the air. Grabbing the red head's hand, she smiled down at her a little nervously as the brown eyes cracked open. Stared at her. At the dark sky above them. At the ground at face level.

"Am I on the floor?"

Her soft voice sounded brittle.

"Yeah. Different floor but yeah," Naomi smiled breathlessly.

"Well that's never a good thing." Emily closed her eyes as a wave of exhaustion and pain washed over her.

"Usually not." Conceded the blonde, resting her own weary body on her elbows.

She watched as Emily turned her head again to survey the area, the deserted parking spaces and black tarmac reflecting the streetlamps.

Then suddenly, she turned and pinned Naomi down with wide eyes.

"Did you just throw me out of a window?"

"Technically..." answered Naomi, trying to keep her face straight. "But it was for your own good. That fire was heading right for your split ends."

Emily couldn't help herself and laughed loudly. To her blonde friend, it was an angelic sound in the buzzing orange of the streetlamps, until it brought on a fit of hacking, her lungs obviously protesting at the cold night air.

"Hey..." Naomi leant over and rubbed her back anxiously, "No more jokes, ok."

"Wasn't funny anyway," mumbled Emily, sticking her tongue out.

For a brief second, Naomi froze, wondering whether it might have been burnt by the hot air Emily had been breathing in. Wondering if it would look black and strange, but she looked over and Emily's tongue was pink as ever; she breathed a sigh of relief.

"To be honest, I wasn't sure you'd come."

Naomi held her breath again.

The twin broke eye contact. "I thought you might have thought the worst of me when I just disappeared like that...and then you spoke to Danny, told him I was Katie...It felt like it might have been a revenge thing..." Her husky, cracking voice trailed off.

"I didn't tell him that..." Naomi stared at her in shock. "I would never do something so petty...you know that don't you?"

She waited while Emily shifted position, to lie fully on her back. A slight nod of her head answered her question though and she let herself relax her stomach muscles just a little.

"What were you doing answering Katie's phone anyway?"

Naomi blushed a little, and hoped that the dark night would conceal it.

"She was getting a little...uh...distracted by Danny's calls while I was trying to get her to help look for you, so I...eliminated the distraction."

Emily closed her eyes again. "Eliminated the distraction...you sure know how to talk sexy to a girl."

"Said the girl who looks like one of the Raggy Dolls right now. Sexy doesn't really come into it." Emily didn't have to look to know the blonde was grinning, she could hear it in her voice. It made her feel safer than she had in hours.

"So you 'eliminated the distraction' Naomi style?"

There was quiet for a moment.

"And totally fucked you over in the process, it seems." Naomi said miserably.

Unable to stop herself from hanging her head, she couldn't bring herself to look the girl she desired in her kind, brown eyes.

"The oblivious fucking over of someone doesn't really count."

"Have you been reading fortune cookies again?"

Naomi tried to smile, but she couldn't quite make her face move in the right way.

"And the cowardly fucking over of someone that you went to bed with?"

Emily's dark brown eyes, smudged with mascara and ash considered the question. "Depends I guess...on how permanent the cowardly fucking over act is going to be."

Naomi jerked her head up, "Not permanent at all. In fact, I just resigned my post as head of the Cowardly Fuck-Over's Central Committee." She swallowed. "Ems, when we realised Danny had taken you...I felt like I couldn't get enough air in. And the idea that you were trapped in there, with him, with everything around you burning, wondering if I'd sent you there...I'd never..."

"Kiss me."

"Naomi stopped. "Huh?"

"Kiss me...please." Emily sat up, wincing a little.

"I don't want to hurt you..."

"I need to associate tonight with something good, for when we're out of here and I have to remember." Said the red-head plainly.

Naomi stared at her silently in the cold night air. "Ems, I just need you to know that..." Before she could finish Emily had leant over and pressed her lips to hers. Softly at first, and then passionately, drawing her in with a gentle hand on her neck. Letting her know how grateful she was, how hopeful despite everything. Stopping the cogs in Naomi's brain from questioning and criticising just for the space of a few minutes. She felt Naomi, kiss her back and smiled even though their lips were indistinct from one another.

Breaking away after what seemed like an eternity, Emily took a breath of air and smiled at the girl she loved. "I know, Naomi. I always knew."

**A/N: Ok so a bit of fluff amongst the angst before the story concludes soon. But Danny still has Katie and he's not a guy just to give up on something so hope you stay tuned for the next chapter. Please review, I need your thoughts!**


	8. Resolution part One

**A/N: Ok, so big thanks once again to reviewers, appreciate every word. Esp those who make the effort to comment on each chapter. We've come to the conclusion, now but it's turning out to be longer than I thought so it's going to be in two parts. This being the first. Thoughts, criticisms, abuse- I'll take any of those so please review! **

**RESOLUTIONS**

**By HeligenaGirl**

The two girls, sat there in the cold air, neither of them really feeling the chill as their arms intertwined.

Suddenly, the bright white headlights of a car sluiced over the area, brushing the scrublands and concrete. Naomi dragged Emily up off the ground as she saw the familiar bright stripes of the police car burning in the darkness, and waved her arms to get its attention.

"Over here!"

Emily smiled. "Have you ever thought about becoming a cheerleader?"

Naomi pushed Emily playfully. "Are you kidding, I'd be a fucking amazing cheerleader. I'd pom the shit out of them."

The car's tyres screeched as the ground changed underneath them, and it circled closer to their location.

"Wait, how do you know they'll help? They might think we set the fire..." Emily glanced back at the hellhole she'd been in not that long ago, the furniture and fixtures must have been a pile of melted material by now, but before she could remember properly, she felt Naomi pull her into a warm hug from behind. "I just know, ok."

She kept her arm out, and the police cruiser drove over on the shifting ground, slowly, pulling to a stop.

"Evening, Ladies."

They stared wide eyed at the bloodied, grim face of Danny behind the wheel.

"How did you..." Naomi stood a little in front of her red-haired friend. "I mean, where did you..."

"Snuck out of the ambulance while the pigs were busy taping off the road." He sounded almost proud of himself but she couldn't ignore the low growl of anger underneath the words.

Danny unlocked the back door mechanism. "Get in."

Neither moved but Emily suddenly spotted a familiar crimson head of hair resting in the back.

_Katie. What?..._

"Come on. Wouldn't want to walk out on your friend twice in one night would you?"

Danny looked directly at Naomi and she swallowed. Naomi turned to Emily with worry and guilt burning in her eyes. "There may be a few things you don't know."

She knew they had to get in. He was right and that thought made her feel physically sick but she couldn't think of what else to do. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to escape to without leaving someone.

Reluctantly, opening the door, she was about to pull Emily into the back with her when Danny sounded the horn.

"Katie-girl's riding shotgun."

Naomi wanted to argue but she saw her girlfriend give a tired conciliatory nod beside her and let go of her hand.

"I tried to do the right thing but...I had to leave one of you..."

Emily silenced her with her finger. "It's all right. You can explain later."

Summoning all her courage, she got into the front seat and heard Naomi slide into the back.

Turning round, Emily stared at her sister's limp body and tried to process all the information but her head was buzzing. Overloaded by the fear she'd felt before Naomi had taken her out of that burning room, the relief when the blonde had kissed her back after everything, the confusion and the adrenaline. Freedom and night air only to have it snatched away again. It was too much.

Danny killed the engine, there and stretched his arms out.

"Oh before I forget." He pulled a pair of handcuffs out of the driver's seat pocket. Reaching over, he clamped one of the rings around Emily's wrist and snapped the other around the computer screen on the dashboard.

"Now don't we all feel a little more secure."

No-one spoke for a moment, until Danny turned round in his seat.

"And don't think I appreciate your little message in a bottle, Blondie. A lot of guys would take offence at that sort of slander."

He threw a crumpled piece of paper at her and it landed limply by the handbrake. Naomi stared at him defiantly, "Not slander is it though. It's pretty much what happened."

He was out of his seat before she could react. Grabbing her neck, he breathed hard onto her face and she smelt the metallic tang of blood in amongst the booze and sourness. "Listen, you hung up the phone on me. You and your little friend trash my fucking car...my fucking Porsche" He glanced at Katie's dull eyes. "You leave your friend to the darkness..."

He fixed his eyes back on Naomi's watering blue ones. "You take my girl while I'm lying in the middle of the road, bleeding out of the side of my fucking head...you think you're safe there on the moral high ground, darling."

She barely flinched as he shoved his face in front of hers, daring her to make some kind of reply. He touched the side of her neck again, enjoying the tiny flash of discomfort that betrayed her.

From the front, Emily watched in panic as he tightened his grip on Naomi's neck. She could see red finger marks already and her cheeks were beginning to flush with the pain. But what could she do, she couldn't move her arm, couldn't run in her state even if she could get out.

_Small things, Em. Play the long game._

Flicking her eyes down, she made sure he was still focused on Naomi and snuck out her hand. Let it inch towards the creased paper ball. Her knuckles grazed it and with effort, she brushed it into her palm.

"So how are you going to repay me, eh? For the distress and anguish I've suffered this evening?"

"If you turn your back for a second, I'll show you," she choked.

Emily could see her fear buried underneath though.

In the dim light of the car, she read the messy writing. _To the Ambulance Crew, the girl wearing this coat is Katie Fitch, she was driving the silver car when it crashed into the yellow sports car on the right. The sports car swerved into our path, the driver Danny currently has alcohol and possibly illegal narcotics in his system which caused the crash and is known to the police. Katie was breathing, clear airways when I checked her, but hadn't regained consciousness. If you read this, I swear I did everything I could. Please tell the police to come to the old Bristol Rover's Clubhouse, there may be someone else needing medical attention._

Danny's eyes wandered back to Katie for a moment, and Emily took the opportunity to do the only thing she could. She gently took Naomi's shaking hand in her free one, bending it around the seat back, and squeezed it to give her girl some reassurance.

She hoped it was enough.

Danny, slid back into his seat, and focused on her this time.

"Now since you owe me Katiekat, as you cost me my reputation and a willing piece of ass, we're going to play a little game. I'm going to ask you some questions, make sure you're showing proper committment then maybe we can work this all out." He grinned. "Oh and just so you know, any wrong answers have...repercussions."

Emily glanced at Katie in the mirror, who seemed more awake now and had a similar look of horror to her own. It was like staring at herself, bruises and bandages all, and Emily had to shake her head to make sure she was definitely awake.

"All right, everyone hands on buzzers and we'll start with some easy ones." Danny cocked his head, "What position do I play?"

Emily clamped her muscles down to keep from betraying the prickling despair running up her skin. She snuck another look at her twin and her eyes widened when she saw Katie quietly throwing her arms up, pretending to cower behind them, like some cheap heroine from a Hammer Horror film in the low grainy light.

"...Defence?" She tried to keep the question out of her voice.

Danny paused. "One to you."

And Emily let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"What position do you play?"

There was a smirk brewing on his smug face when he said it and Emily had to smooth the confusion from her own. _What the hell does that mean?_

Naomi was obviously trying to work it out too but she shook her head blankly behind Danny's frame.

Emily looked for a clue from Katie but for some reason, her sister was staring at the floor, her face as red as she'd ever seen it. Doing anything to not have to look at her.

The renewed sense of helplessness building inside her chest expanded.

Danny just leant in closer to Emily, clearly relishing the height difference. "Clock's running out, babe. Come on, we're all friends here..."

She tried to think of something clever to say but everything was swirling inside her head and she couldn't make anything out inside the swarm.

He brought his arm up, a few inches from the red-heads face and she recoiled on instinct, hardening her muscles, through the cuffs.

"There it is..." he whispered.

She didn't understand.

"The submissive." Naomi answered for her, quietly from the backseat.

_What? _Screamed Ems brain. Nothing seemed to make any sense anymore. She wondered for a moment if she was still unconscious inside the burning room but...

Danny reached round without warning and slapped Naomi hard in the face. "No helping." He wagged his finger at her.

Emily shifted desperation overcoming her, "Stop it!"

He turned back. "Now, no pre-empting either. That was going to be the answer to the next one." He leant down and kissed her roughly on the forehead. "You always were in a hurry."

Emily shivered with revulsion. Every part of her wanted to scream. At her sister for being so fucking tasteless. At Naomi for just sitting there and answering questions that she should have known. At herself, mostly though, for being so bloody feeble.

"Stay with me Princess." He pinched her arm callously, obviously noticing her distraction. "We're not nearly done yet."

He winked at Katie in the mirror, still silent in the backseat. "Speaking of which, Ems. Didn't take my advice about getting some new threads?"

Katie looked down at her pink tracksuit. "Didn't take my advice about getting a mental health check-up?" she muttered.

He whistled. "Maybe Katie's finally rubbing off on you.... Lads'll be glad to hear that."

Then he seemed to regain his focus and banged the central armrest. "Ok, so now we're moving onto the personal questions."

_How much worse can it get? _Thought Emily.

"What do you really think of your sister?"

Emily felt Katie's wide eyes boring into her, despite the pain and exhaustion but she didn't falter. "Loser."

"And?"

"And... a spineless...shadow." She felt tears prick her eyes and willed them to stop, unable to wipe them away. "Interloper. Possibly some sort of changeling situation happened at the hospital."

"That's not..." Katie whispered, but Danny smacked her ankles.

"Acceptance is a mark of quality, babe. So's buttoning it."

He ran his finger down Emily's face, "And what do you envy most about her?"

"I..." Emily faltered now, a small sob forcing its way out of her throat. "I..." She squeezed her eyes shut so she didn't have to absorb Katie's embarrassment, Naomi's frustration. The combination was making the air hard to breathe. "I...don't know."

He was so close to her she could taste his skin. "That's not what you said last time, is it? Come on, we'll say it both together..."

She followed his mouth, as he formed the word. "Nothing..."

_Nothing._

Emily couldn't hold it any longer and felt trails of tears start to make their way down her cheeks; inside the car, locked in the middle of nowhere with the people she loved and the one person she couldn't seem to get away from.

**A/N: Ok, so there's one more chapter on this. Let me know your thoughts, will speed up my posting the last bit, I promise!**


	9. Resolution Part Two

**A/N: Thanks everyone for all the reviews, really really makes my day to get them. Can't believe how hard it is to write the end of a story! This was so hard to write, so hope it concludes things to your satisfaction. Any final thoughts on the chapter, overall thing or just general ideas for another fic then please review after reading. And thanks again!**

**RESOLUTIONS PART II**

**By HeligenaGirl**

No-one spoke anymore.

Danny seemed to have burned off the adrenaline that had prompted the questions earlier, the pain from his bruises and cuts obviously becoming more pervasive. In fact, every one of them was feeling it, an unnameable ache in their muscles. The hazy unreality of the barely circulating air.

Emily had thought she would have preferred silence to the jibes, the never-ending scratches but this was almost worse. Everytime she breathed in, there was the taste of unease and something else, something ominous in the oxygen.

His gaze flicked into the mirror. "So Ems...is there anything left you've always wanted to know? He stretched out. "It feels likes we're reaching a Zen state where everyone knows everyone else here. I can feel the love." Smiling, he looked over his shoulder, "Do you feel the love, Naomi?"

The blonde stared out the window. "I feel nauseous, does that count?"

"I'm not going to tell you again to watch your mouth."

She bit her lip to keep the retort on her tongue.

"Do you want to know how your sister likes it? We can show you, so you get the full picture." His teeth glinted in the low light at the wrong girl.

Katie shook her head, "I'm ok thanks."

"How she likes a little pressure on the back of her neck..."

No-one said anything until he began to move towards Emily with undisguised intention.

Katie sat up, hurriedly, "Actually, I was wondering where _Katie_ spent Tuesday night."

Naomi stared at 'Emily' across from her with anger and embarrassment. A tight look on her face that clearly said _What the fuck are you doing._

Danny turned back to the real Emily. "What's this?"

She swallowed nervously in the front passenger seat.

"You'd better not have been fucking around on me, because I'll find out who it was and do them over." Naomi froze at the cutting edge in his slurred voice and prayed for Emily to stay strong.

"I...I was at a friends house. We had a project to finish." She wasn't sure she'd believe it herself but the combination of drugs and booze must have weakened his thinking because he grinned lop-sidedly.

"Well, I don't begrudge my girl friends, and the comfort they bring." He let his hand wander across the central armrest and stroke her knee. "Comfort is underrated."

_So's pepper spray and a tazer, _thought Naomi but she didn't say it. Her eyes were glued to Emily in the mirror. It was clearly taking all her effort not to pull her calf away from his fingertips and Naomi could see the war raging on her reflected face. Clearly, it was all she could think to prolong the mellow mood he'd sunken into and Naomi knew it.

"I'd never mess you about," Emily forced herself to whisper to him, letting her gaze find her twin in the back for a second. She looked away guiltily. _So she fucking should, _thought Emily.

"Not to break the mood ladies but I need a piss like you wouldn't believe." Danny took his hand away from her leg and hefted the car keys into his palm. "I know you won't hurt my feelings by running." He clearly thought that was hilarious, with Emily cuffed to the dashboard and the two girls in the back, locked in by the central system. The only way to unlock the back doors was to press the keyring and he wasn't about to leave that in there.

Giving them a salute, he got out and pressed the button, bolting the car, making it impenetrable.

"Are you ok, Ems." Naomi asked worriedly.

"Fine," came a low reply.

"What the fuck was that?" Naomi turned to Katie angrily.

"Just figured it'd distract him...and since we're playing Truth..."

"You're a real prick."

Katie lowered her eyes. "I wasn't thinking, sorry."

She heard her sister whisper "It's ok," from somewhere in the front. It wasn't but what else could she say. Words felt irrelevant now.

"We need a plan," said Naomi, tersely.

They all fell into silent thought. But nothing came.

Resting one of her hands on Emily's shoulder, bending it around the car seat in front, Naomi sighed. "Ironic."

Katie rested her head back on the seat tiredly and looked over at Naomi, who was playing with the edge of the seat belt strapped down over her chest with her other hand.

"Police cars are supposed to keep you safe from psychos." Naomi explained.

"Great. That's what'll save us, a well-developed sense of irony." Katie shook her head, feeling the dizziness and stinging start to grow again over her right eye.

"I'm just saying."

"Maybe you could try not to. I think we'd all appreciate it."

"How are you feeling?" Naomi could see the haziness in the red-head's eyes, they weren't quite focusing properly, on the odd occasion that she could bring herself to look.

"I can taste blood in my mouth. It's weird. Bitter, you know. Tastes a bit like guilt...I'd imagine."

"Did you miss me?" She heard Danny's low laugh as he climbed back into the car and ignored it.

Naomi clamped her eyes shut. It was a cheap effort to stop the burning acid in her chest but she couldn't think of another way to distract herself from Katie's unsaid accusation. From the image of Katie lying there in the broken car, as she ran from it.

"Sorry." She whispered.

In the front seat, Emily could barely make out what they were saying but she could get the gist of it and her heart sank at the thought of the two people she loved aiming deep personal insults at each other.

"It's ok. I'm just...it's fine."

Naomi opened her eyes to see Katie smiling bleakly at her in the dark interior.

"Can I see?"

The blonde didn't expect a reply, wasn't sure why she'd even asked but to her surprise, Katie lifted up her pink tracksuit top a little. A large purplish bruise covered half of her chest, seeping across her ribs, it seemed incredible that she could even breathe with such a

"Jesus. Can I..." Naomi didn't even wait for an answer this time, she reached out a shaking hand and touched the skin. It felt warm, feverish and she was surprised to find that Katie barely jerked when she traced the outline of the discoloration.

"Sorry." She said again. Anyone could see she meant it, there were tears beginning to form in her eyes and Katie, somewhat chastened, squeezed her hand as she pulled her jacket back down.

"Don't worry. You got Em out." She stared at the floor as she quietly put her seat belt back on, "As long as you save one of us, you're a hero. That's the way it works."

"I don't feel like much of a hero."

"You don't look like much of one either." The bolshier twin smiled, nodding at Naomi's ripped vest. "Got the whole 'Lara Croft impersonator who's really let herself go' thing going on."

Naomi didn't know whether to laugh or punch her. So she didn't do anything.

The red-head in the back, twisted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Jeez, the rides to school must have been a nightmare for her."

She took in the confusion on the blonde's face. "Ems always sat in the back. I only really lay down on the back seat, never really sat on it."

"Oh." Naomi realised what she meant. "Gross."

"Naomi...he didn't touch her did he?"

The girl across from her shook her head miserably. "Turns out Em is pretty ingenious at rebuffing drunken men's advances." She smiled sadly, at the strand of red hair she could see a few inches in front, caught on the side of the seat.

"Yeah, she is." Said Katie quietly. And looked away. Naomi could have slapped herself.

"I didn't mean to imply anything."

"And you?"

"Me what?" said Naomi, a little defensively, suddenly anxious she knew where this was going.

"Have you...touched her?"

She froze, took in the visible anger on Katie's face.

"What does that mean?"

Katie didn't break eye contact.

"You better not be comparing me to a fucking wannabe rapist."

"Or what, you'll smack me with your hippy stick?" Katie sat up, despite the obvious effort it took.

"I don't need a freaking hippy stick to break your boxer's nose."

"Yeah, well why wait."

Before Naomi could react, Katie had leant over, buoyed on a tide of frustration and anger and grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling it sharply. The sensation brought instant tears to her eyes and Naomi wrapped her arm around the twin's neck, trying to drag her off her.

Emily peered in the mirror and her chest jerked when she saw what was going on.

She turned round, as far as she could. "Stop it! Jesus."

"Christ, can't leave you girls alone for a second." Danny sounded almost amused. But he unclipped his belt and angled himself between the front seats, pushing his arms against the girl's chests. "Now, wind your necks in or I'm going to have to show you ladies how to behave."

Breathing heavily, Naomi stared wildly at her struggling target.

"Now." She yelled.

Each of the girl's grabbed an arm, holding them in as tight a grip as they could manage. Naomi bit her cheek as the irate footballer tried to jerk away from her. "Now Em!"

Emily ignored the whispering cowardice that threatened to overcome her and somehow knowing what to do, reaching out her free hand she gripped the key in the ignition. She turned it, waiting for the sounds of the engine to burst into life. It was a beautiful, metallic sound.

"I'm going to fucking do all of you!"

She pushed her arm past Danny's thrashing body and flicked all the switches, watching mesmerized as flashing blue and red lights lit up the grassland outside. Streaking it with wonderful colour, something, anything other than the dark sky and the grey horizon.

"Put it in drive." She heard her twin say, pain obvious in her voice from behind her.

She wondered for a split second if that was how she sounded but the thought was lost in the adrenaline. She'd never realised that police cars were mostly automatic drive, but right now, it seemed like the best decision the force had ever made. Forcing the stick into the D slot, she stretched her body out, angled her leg into the drivers footwell and stamped her foot down on the accelerator.

The vehicle jerked forward, the wheels grasping for purchase on the soft ground. Both girls in the back, held onto their hostage arms as hard as they could as it moved faster, turning as Emily pulled the wheel to the right with as much force as she could. It was going so fast now that the grey streak out of the side windows zoomed past, hurtled into a continuous line of nothingness.

"Em, seatbelt..."

Emily knew she couldn't keep her foot down and reach to fit her belt on, depite the fear in Naomi's voice. But she also knew that if this ended badly for her, Naomi and Katie would let themselves sink into hating each other and never let it go. She searched around her desperately for an answer in the cab. Then it came to her.

Grabbing the radio and mic, she ripped it out of it's bracket on the dashboard and wedged it down on the pedal, as the wheel skipped over what must have been a rock. She barely had time to push herself back into her seat and clip in her belt before the shadow of a building flared in the flashing lights ahead.

A few seconds passed in a blur.

The car ploughed straight into it with an otherworldly smash. The car groaned, every fibre of it's being shaking with the impact. Masonry, plastic and what seemed to be the night itself rained down on the bonnet, each piece smacking into metal with a heavy thud. Then there was only silence.

Naomi was the first to open her eyes. She had to close them again to keep out the flying dust. Wiping them furiously with her sleeve, she peered across the seat from her. Katie was still there, strapped in place, her eyes flickering open.

"You ok?"

The smaller girl patted herself down. "Think so."

Simultaneously, they both turned to the front of the car. The engine had crumpled the bonnet back into the steering column, and Danny's body was lying haphazardly between the seats, his open staring eyes glazed a few inches from Naomi's leg. He wasn't moving. Not even blinking in the dust. They both knew what it meant.

She knew she had no reason to, but she still moved her leg, so no part of her was in his eyeline.

"Emily?" Naomi called out nervously.

There was no response from the front seat.

"Em?" Katie's pitch went up higher.

"I think he's dead." Came a quiet voice from the darkness.

Both girls surged with relief. "Are you all right?"

"I look like an extra from the Thriller video... but I think I'm ok." A face streaked with dirt and cuts peered around the side of the seat and stared at Naomi and Katie.

"Is it over?"

They stared at the misshapen body lying between them. "I think so."

"Then can we get out of this car, please ?"

Naomi moved first, clambered across the motionless body of their captor and slid into the front seat. Pressing the keyfob button, she heard Katie dragging herself out of the back door. Then she stuck her hand into the jeans pocket of the body, desperately trying to find the handcuff keys before she completely broke down. Pulling them out, she unlocked Emily's bruised wrist and helped her out, stumbling onto the concrete path.

All three of them stood there, in the chill wind, breathing cold clean air, unable to process everything that had just happened. Naomi sank to her knees.

Emily bent over her and whispered. "You look exactly like a hero to me."

She turned to her twin and gave her a brief hug. Then she smiled. "You might want to shut your eyes for a second, Katie."

"Why would I..." The twin watched open mouthed as her sister leant over and kissed Naomi softly on the lips. Showing her the overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude the only way she could think of.

Her mind buzzing with a hundred emotion, Katie didn't have any words anymore. So she simply said the first thing that popped into her head.

"Do you really think I have a boxer's nose?"

Naomi turned to Katie and grinned. "Only sometimes."

She took a glance at the first signs of dawn on the horizon. "Let's go find a real policeman."

They all started walking towards the east, leaning on each other as they went.

**A/N: Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Epilogue

**A/N: Ok, couldn't help myself. Just a little bit of an epilogue to the story. I know I said it before but so much thanks to the readers and reviewers, bundles of it in fact. If I have time I may start work on a sequel but real life seems to get in the way whenever I think about it.**

**Anyway, hope you like. If you do, let me know.**

**REASONS**

**By HeligenaGirl**

Emily smiled as Naomi ran her fingertip across the back of her hand. It inched up her knuckle, along the bone and stopped delicately at the red nail.

"Your index finger is longer than your ring finger," she murmured.

Emily looked at her questioningly.

"You know what that means..." Naomi cocked an eyebrow suggestively. She leant in close to Ems' ears. "Means your gay."

The smaller red-head giggled as the soft breath tickled the soft skin by her hairline.

"Katie has it to. What does that mean?"

Naomi thought for a moment. "Means she wants to be gay."

"Fuck off," a familiar voice floated through the wall of the kitchen, the plywood apparently not able to filter any of its annoyance.

Both girls laughed at each other. Surprisingly easily, freely in Naomi's warm sunlit kitchen. Somehow since Danny, the twins had taken to coming over after college. Not for any specific purpose, definitely not to go over any of the details, but just to exist a little, without having to have an eye kept on them. Someone measuring their bruises out of the corner of an eye.

She was surprised to find that she looked forward to coming home now. To the sounds of voices she knew.

As they mixed the ingredients together for that nights cassoulet, Emily pretended not to notice Naomi brushing the back of her neck every few minutes.

_One extra ingredient,_ she thought contentedly, as she chopped up some baby carrots. _Certainty. _

_Really brings the dish together._

"How are her ribs?"

Emily, knocked out of her thoughts stared into Naomi's eyes, the blue ever so slightly darkened with something that she guessed was responsibility.

"Sore. Sort of beautiful in a Salvadore Dali kind of way but...painful." She intertwined her fingers with the blonde's, the only noticeable difference the blue nail varnish and the slightly paler skin.

"I think it hurts her to speak."

Naomi took that in and bit down the smile that threatened to erupt. "Must be a nightmare."

"Yeah." Emily giggled again and hearing it, Naomi had to stop herself from covering the red-haired girl's face in kisses.

"Right..." _Focus..._Naomi took a deep breath and grabbed some cans from the shelf above the sink. "Flageolet or cannelini beans?"

Ems went back to chopping. "Flageolet...sounds dirtier."

"Everything sounds dirty to you. I could read out the local multiplex times and you'd turn it into a porn flick."

She felt a small insulted shove from her right, and swung round catching Emily's small wrist in her grasp. Before the twin could escape, she grabbed the other wrist and pinned them above her head, on the cupboard. Naomi planted a delicate kiss on her frowning forehead.

"You can get offended if you like, but it's totally true."

It was only then that she stared down at the struggling red-haired girl and felt her mind wander to that night, when Danny had taken her off the street, ripped her away and tried to....

Her hand released unconsciously and she was suddenly aware that Emily had gone quiet too. A question burning behind her grave face.

"Naomi..."

She still got a shiver whenever her name was said in that beautiful voice.

Strange, it seemed to have gotten even deeper since that night had happened but no-one else had noticed.

Problem was; she wasn't sure she wanted to answer whatever the question was that was on Emily's lips, but despite that she waited patiently.

"When you left Katie there...in the car..." Emily looked away, nervous all of a sudden sending the spirals of butterflies in Naomi's stomach into a dive-bomb.

"...Was it hard?"

Naomi swallowed. "Second hardest thing I ever had to do."

"I wouldn't have blamed you, if you'd stayed with her," said Emily, eyes wide.

Then paused. "Wait, what was the first?"

Naomi tapped the work surface apprehensively with her fingernail.

"Watching you shave your legs. Disturbing on _so_ many levels."

All of a sudden Naomi couldn't see, everything was red and she realised that Emily had jolted forward to wrap her arms around her. A shock of scarlet hair tickled her neck and she couldn't help herself, she folded her own arms around the girl's back, carefully avoiding the bruises. She knew exactly where every single one was now, and she knew which pieces of skin she could touch without making Ems wince.

_Couldn't teach that in an A-Level. Most important thing in the fucking world._

"You know, you were amazing in the interview."

She felt Emily's soft mouth smile against the skin on her neck in response. "Felt like I was auditioning for The Bill," came a mumbled reply.

"Don't think they were too impressed with the memory gaps though."

Emily felt a hand stroke her hair gently and found she was overwhelmed with gratitude at the simple gesture. "S'all right. Don't think I want to remember."

"You still get bits and pieces?" Emily heard Naomi's soft lisp through her chin.

"Flashes mostly... like when you get the sun in your eyes."

One night, she'd woken up to a familiar leering grin inside the room. A hand offering a bottle of something from the wall to her right. Wet droplets on her face. It only really stopped when she fell asleep wrapped in the blonde's arms and she had to make herself go home some days, knowing he'd be waiting. On those days she couldn't concentrate on anything in class.

"Besides," Emily said, as much to cut the thought off as to explain herself. "The highlights are all I need."

Naomi drew back and stroked Emily's soft face with the side of her finger. "It's all highlights from now on, yeah?"

She leant down and kissed her girl tenderly.

"Jesus, can you put it away for one second."

They broke apart as Katie wandered in from the lounge, scowling. She stood there for a moment awkwardly, resting her hip on the frame.

"Do you need a hand?"

Naomi blinked, a little surprised. "Yeah, sure." Her arm snaked around Emily's waist.

"You can wash a few things up if you like." She motioned to the sinkful of dishes, colanders and Tupperware bowls, and waited.

"Ok."

_Fuck me, she's serious."_

Naomi watched taken aback as Emily's twin wandered across to them, the bandage over her left eye matching the smaller one on Ems's forehead. She wasn't sure why but the idea of it, of them sharing the pain, made her smile.

"Oh here, you can wear these gloves if you like."

Bending down under the sink, she drew out a pair of red shiny boxing gloves and held them out, with as serious a face as she could manage. "I think they're your size."

Katie stared back, her anger barely contained. "Did you buy them just in case the opportunity arose to take the piss out of me?"

Naomi shrugged guiltily, feeling Emily squeeze her fingers. She wasn't sure if it meant she was tutting at her or backing her up. "Pretty much."

"Do you have some actual washing up gloves?"

Naomi nodded, humbled. "The cupboard by your knees. Just have a _nose_ around."

She bit her lip and saw Emily doing the same behind her, as Katie muttering bent down and searched through the wooden slatted cubbyhole.

After a few moments, she pulled her head out, a limp pair of yellow gloves in her grasp.

"You get that I hate you, right?" She brushed a strand of red hair back.

Emily patted her shoulder, "She _knows_."

"That goes for you too, Judas."

Katie turned towards the big pile of dirty dishes, ready to suck it up but was suddenly thrown forward by Emily hugging her tightly from behind.

And as much as she told herself to freeze her muscles, she enjoyed the warmth emanating through her spine. Had missed it and hadn't even been aware of it until someone tried to take it away.

"Love you," mumbled Ems into her wavy hair.

"Me too." Whispered Katie, not entirely sure she'd said it out loud.

"Oh bless you, making a start on dinner."

None of them had noticed but Naomi's Mum had come in. Was staring at them. Not them, really, more the assortment of bandages, gauze and yellowing bruises on every one of them, on every inch of visible skin. Walking across the slightly sticky floor in her slippers, she stopped in front of Emily and Katie, and smiled down at them, her blonde hair shining in the reflection from the window as she cupped their chins. "Such beautiful girls."

They both held themselves still, a little shyly but even through that, she could see the warmth in both of their brown eyes.

"Brave beautiful girls. And to think of that man..."

She stopped, censoring that thought as Katie looked away, breaking eye contact uncertainly.

Gina Campbell stopped smiling and her face took on a melancholy expression. "Don't feel too bad about what happened. Some people are made to go into the dark, you know. It's their place."

"Yeah, we know." Naomi, urged her mum to stop with her eyes.

She knew what she was trying to say but it wasn't helping. Emily was starting to get a little panicky, was getting that same look in her eye as when she woke from one of her nightmares and Naomi dreaded the feeling of helplessness that brought.

"Any ETA on dinner?"

Naomi bit her lip with relief at her mum's change of topic, "About seven. Maybe ten past if Ems gets off her arse and does some real work."

She ignored Emily sticking her tongue out.

"Have you flipped the calendar today?"

Naomi shook her head, losing track of the subject change again.

"I think you should, new month and all that. I think it'd be good for you." Catching her Mum's wink, Naomi let out a deep sigh, wandered across to the chart and flipped over the page of the free Physics almanac that had come with the Observer.

The red entangled circle of last month was replaced with a burning yellow triangle, scorched into a black background. Underneath in small letters it said,

**Always remember that the three points of the triangle define a plane in space. Pick one of the points and we can consider all other locations on the plane as relative to that point**.

"Can't argue with physics eh?"

She heard her Mum say it before she left the room but it seemed to have come from miles away. Staring at the bright yellow diagram, her stomach muscles seemed to jerk for a second and she turned round to balance herself in some small way.

Staring back at her was the warm, loving face of her girlfriend and the awkward but strangely gracious one of her twin sister. Standing there, hanging out in her family's kitchen as if it were a sanctuary of some kind from the memories and leftover feelings of anxiety.

She took a look down at herself. Her hands, the rough patches where they pushed away burning hot metal.

And she suddenly got it. Just for a second.

She saw the gift the whole sorry situation had left them with, and for some stupid reason, she couldn't a smile breaking out on her face.

"Ok..." Naomi clapped her hands together and turned to her guests with sudden animation. "What say we finish up and have drink or too?"

The two red-heads nodded quietly, a little confusedly truth be told and they all got to work on dinner, standing there in the afternoon sunshine.

**A/N- Thoughts, opinions. Hit the green button.**


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